


Not A Hero Of This Generation, But Maybe The Next.

by kotter



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, author likes characters who aren't good people to start out but try to be better, i based this off minecraft lol, i liked it but not really gonna do anything with it, no definitive ending, not quite finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29586408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotter/pseuds/kotter
Summary: She had really tried, but ulterior motives from people she barely knows put a wrench in the gears.> me trying to write out what would happen if a heroic protagonist doesn't beat the odds and dies during their epic journey. doesn't end NEARLY as badly as you might think.





	Not A Hero Of This Generation, But Maybe The Next.

The flash of blue metal invading her chest cavity was sudden but not unexpected.

Her assailant’s cold pink eyes standing out against the black abyss of the stars shining above her was oddly beautiful, she admired, as she lost her footing and plummeted into the whirlportal. The ocean’s icy grip held her and the dark green kelp towered over her as she descended deeper into the depths, red and bubbles escaping her body. The wooden ship’s beautiful hull impassively sat above her, moving onward without her towards the Great Cilcerran Temple.

Quemo’s betrayal would not be noticed until morning. Far, far too late to save her.

The ocean’s currents gently embraced her. The icy touch did not seem so icy now, it felt more cool. More polite, like a nod of acknowledgment. It was allowing her inside. It was not pressing on her anymore. The ocean, the endless sea, the sailor’s mass grave, was not unused to someone like her. Someone gravely wounded and descending into its depths. It was the cradle of many ships laid to rest, drowned creatures that had once resided on those ships, which were now their tombstones and shelter from the world outside. The fish and coral, the ocean’s natural children, shared their homes with the lost souls. And where the coral did not grow and the fish did not swim, kelp protected the lost ones from the sun’s rays in the lonesome Deeps.

Kelp swayed above and around her. Fish encircled her. Dolphins squeaked, the currents tugged at her mask. They greeted her and provided comfort in the only way they knew how. She let her sword drop from her hand. Her eyes eased closed as she blew out a tired breath in the form of bubbles. Would she become a drowned? She did not die on a ship. She was to die by herself with only her sword to mark her place. She would not have a place to call home when life left her body, she would be a lone specter in the deep. She did not have anything to protect or shelter her.

The ocean was her new world.

It was not a true home. She would have no peace. With the last of her energy, she crossed her arms across her chest. Her back touched smooth stone.

_Truly, a miserable way to die, child._ A pale eye opened in front of her, hovering a few feet away, about as large as herself. _No home in the deep_. The eye narrowed. _A terrible end._

Other, smaller eyes opened near it, gazing at her, ranging from impassivity to curiosity.

_A traitor’s or criminal’s end, to be sure_. The deep, hoarse voice chuckled between her ears. _It could be justice, or a tragedy. A deserved fate for a crime, or wrongdoing against an innocent._ She did not respond. _But that is your past now. Your future is much more important._

The eye’s body loomed into her view. It was a massive, scaly creature, spiked and rotund with a fish’s tail and a great eye. _I am the Ocean’s Voice and Hand. I am an Elder Guardian of the Ocean’s Temple._

A multitude of other creatures, shaped similarly but colored and sized differently, swam into view, clearly deferring to the Elder’s authority.

_You are here by my will, child._ It had been long enough since she’d been flung into the depths, after all. She is gone by now. _You have a choice._

A buzz grew in her head, deafening whatever she was thinking. Her Voice was suppressed, she could only Listen.

_The Land and Sky cry out for your return, child._ _You were not fated to die in the Ocean. The end of your people is fast approaching without you._

This did not surprise her. The entire reason she departed on her voyage was to save her people from the end.

_This is not a second chance to save them._ Her breath caught in her throat. _This is a second chance to live like you were intended to, without war and anguish. Whatever your past and your intentions on boarding that ship, it has rewarded you with favor in the eyes of Land and Sky. The end approaches, and you are to be spared._ The buzz crescendoed, blocking her feelings from being thoughts. _Do not despair._ The Voice softened, almost kindly. _You did everything to save your people, they tell me. While you did not succeed, you truly cared. You gave everything to ensure a better future._

The buzz quieted, allowing her brain to Think and Speak again. Important questions first, rage, sorrow, and awe at speaking to a World Spirit later. “The choice you said I had. What is it?” The Voice lost its softness. _I will not give you a choice in being spared from the approaching end. Your choice is whether you would like to remember your life now. You are not a hero of this generation, child. But you may be a hero of the next._ Her heart dropped into her stomach. “I-” she choked. “Is this a punishment or a blessing?” _Both the former and the latter. It is a punishment for your earlier cowardice and deceit , and consequence for your failure. But it is a reward for your love and passion to the end._ Tears rose in her eyes.

“What about my friends an’ all the people who helped me? Gruuzy, Milo, Yaddis, Bellan-- what about them? Aren’t they heroes, too? Even more than I apparently am?” The Elder’s Voice softened again. _They are heroes, in their own ways, just like you. But what makes them different from you is that they needed someone to show them, someone to lead them. That was you. You did not wait for anyone, you stepped forward and inspired them to join you. But they will not be forgotten by the Powers. Their love for the Land, Sky and Sea will be their salvation. You touched their lives, child._ Was that fondness?

_The capability in you for good, for love and being a saving light, is great. Perhaps it will be even greater when it is not hindered by your past or inhibitions._ She slowly blinked, dumbstruck by the praise after her failures, coming from a powerful being, a World Spirit of the Sea. She had expected to be scorned, looked down upon, even mocked for her failures and crimes. But she was being relieved instead. Comforted, even though the Elder did not sugarcoat its words about her failures. It was honest, but… kind, dare she call it kind.

“Will they be safe, though?” she asked quietly. Its kindness had not alleviated the rock of dread and sorrow in her gut. _Yes. They will be safe from the end, their souls will not be destroyed._ That still left a lot of hurt that could come to them. She thought of Yaddis standing before the moon spirits, Milo in his ceremonial clothes after years of hard work, Bellan treating his pets against the Lily Fever, Gruuzy leading them through the mineshaft to save his family. It hit her that these were all of them in their shining moments. Milo becoming a real member of his faith, Yaddis confronting the night spirits in an act of phenomenal bravery, Bellan taking a stand against the terrible disease that plagued his clan’s farm, and Gruuzy leaving his alchemy behind to save the people he cared about. Yet she could only take the Elder’s word that they would be safe. She didn’t distrust the Elder, but she wanted to save them herself... she had failed when it mattered most, and they would pay the price. She wanted to change everything. But... she's here, lost to the ocean's depths.

_Curse you, Quemo..._ her face contorted into a furious despair. "They're never going to know until it's too late. I-" 

The earth rocked. 


End file.
